Meanings of oils the wheels in English

I have learned it is the grease that oils the wheels of our business.

A cruel story runs on wheels, and every hand oils the wheels as they run.

A bit of fuzziness around the edges of your judgment oils the wheels of friendship.

There's a bad style of humbug, but there is also a good style-onethat oils the wheels and makes progress possible.

Stock prices sank and demand soared for extra short-term lending offered in an attempt to sustain the system that oils the wheels of modern capitalism.

Respect for rank is the last infirmity even of noble republican minds, and it oils the wheels of the progress of those who possess it.